Attorney Jim Olson, Esq., the Founder/Director of the NGO Flow for Water, describes how people can protect their Commons using laws at the core of western legal systems. He describes how the Public Trust Doctrine is a crucial element of law requiring government to act on behalf of people’s wellbeing.

He describes how climate change, beach access and water quality are all related: we share them, and the law protects the rights of people to use and enjoy their Commons.

The Public Trust Doctrine can be used by people to reverse bad decisions by government – and reverse the overreach by corporations that have taken away access to many Commons from the public.

Many other legal systems have elements requiring legitimate governments to act

Ideas That Bring People Together A message of greeting and hope from renowned traveler and humanitarian Paul Osimo – also a Rotary International member and Past District Governor (PDG) heavily involved in humanitarian relief efforts to Madagascar, India, central Asia

Penelise Alofa, of the Kiribati Islands, describes how she is losing her country as it is slowly submerged by sea level rise. How can a person face such a fate? How can others understand how it would feel to have

Professor Leo Burke of the University of Notre Dame describes the commons and the benefits of a commons viewpoint in this interview recorded in Berlin, Germany at the commons conference sponsored by the Heinrich Boll Stiftung (Heinrich Boll Foundation) in

Rotarians help people. In this short introduction for kids, Carol Metzker of the Rotary Club of West Chester Downtown in Pennsylvania, in the United States, shares the work of the global Rotary International organization. I have long admired the work

Narrated visit to the Earthship location northwest of Taos, New Mexico in the US, showing construction techniques. This is a simple narrated video showing a site visit in 2009 by my father and I. Earthship is a wonderful, creative, beautiful

For decades, Rotary Clubs around the world have focused on one goal – the Eradication of Polio. In India, this required one of the largest civilian mobilizations in human history. Together with many groups, here is how they did

There is a wonderful new program by Pesticide Action Network that appears very helpful for bees, pollinators and habitat: Honey Bee Haven: http://www.honeybeehavens.com/content/honey-bee-toolkit? Download the guide here. http://pierreterre.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/BeeToolkit_Reduced_0.pdf

This great article in two parts, from Australia, details the mass die-offs around the world, of many species – including the beautiful Ladybird Beetle that is surprisingly important to the web of life: Original Articles at: Part One: http://hydroponics.com.au/free-articles/where-have-all-the-ladybirds-gone and

A World that Works for Everyone By Jay Walljasper Original article in Notre Dame Magazine: http://magazine.nd.edu/news/27932-a-world-that-works-for-everyone/ PUBLISHED: WINTER 2011-12 POSTED IN: CAMPUS & COMMUNITY AND CURRENT AFFAIRS You would expect Notre Dame’92s Mendoza College of Business to focus its teaching

The global protests have uncovered what we had refused to see, and asked us to re-look at what had been taken for granted: We have a good world when we take care of each other, recognize our interdependence, and correct the

We filmed at the Occupy Wall Street protests recently. One of the wonderful things to emerge in these protests has been the Consensus Democracy approach: broad, highly inclusive, community-focused and introspective – everyone has a voice. This form of decision-making

This wonderful game made by Shawn Caza in Ontario, Canada is a terrific way of learning about the issues surrounding the die-off of honeybees. Most importantly, it encourages critical thinking about the issues surrounding the entire matter. Please play the

Buy Nicotine Bees on DVD: http://www.amazon.com/Nicotine-Bees-Kevin-Hansen/dp/B002R8AU4Y Transcript of the film: ___________________________ Music – Nicotine Bees by Mark Leighton JB- What we are going to do now is, we are going to light a smoker. Beekeepers use smoke to, ah,

Prerna Girls School is a part of the Study Hall School in Lucknow, India. It serves the largely impoverished girl children of the surrounding slums, by providing educations to 540 girls from kindergarten through 12th grade (as of June 2010).

Rhetta Morgan at the Common Ground services in Bala Cynwyd, near Philadelphia. She has become a dear friend and married Krista and I in 2012. She is truly an instrument of love, bringing and singing a new vision for human

AfroPop Star Singer Jean Paul Samputu speaks of the forgiveness that is healing Rwanda, as neighbors re-discover that they can live together. Mizero Children was founded by Jean Paul to help heal the orphans of Rwanda from the genocide, HIV/AIDS